


to wield the power to slay all your foes

by x215zimer



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Abuse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Dark Glimmer, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Minor Adora/Catra, Multi, POV Catra (She-Ra), Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 10:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/x215zimer/pseuds/x215zimer
Summary: Glimmer’s learning magic from Shadow Weaver, but it isn’t the only thing she’s getting from her. Catra doesn’t know what she’s looking for or where she’s going, but she is all too familiar with what’s happening. Catra POV.Alternatively: Five times Glimmer used Shadow Weaver’s magic, and one time she didn’t.





	to wield the power to slay all your foes

The first time Glimmer used her new powers, Catra hadn’t seen it coming. She had been running through a Horde base, yelling orders at whoever she came across to repel the invaders when they hit her. The crackling red and black energy had engulfed her, throwing her off her feet. Immediately she was back on her feet, eyes scanning the fray before her for Shadow Weaver’s billowing silhouette. Instead Glimmer, sparkles, cape and all stood in front of her.

“Where is she? Where is Shadow Weaver?” she hissed.

“Ha! You think she needs to be here for us to beat you? Well I learned a few things from her that’ll stop you in your tracks,” Glimmer said. Raising her hand, a field of the same energy materialized around it. Throwing it forward, it flew past Catra’s head as she dove out of its path.

Before she could retaliate, a bolt of red energy crashed into her, trapping her in place. For a moment, Catra could almost hear the cold voice of Shadow Weaver admonishing her for her failures. The moment passed as Glimmer teleported in front of her, reminding her of who wielded the magic now.

“Not so tough now, are you?” Glimmer taunted. She raised her hand again, but instead of magic she clenched it into a fist and swung it into Catra’s face. Paralyzed, she had no choice but to take the blow, falling backwards as the magic holding her was dispelled. Shock and pain took her over, pushing Catra to run faster than she ever had before. Glimmer was teleporting around her trying to stop her, but she wasn’t going to let her have an advantage like that again. Hurling herself forward, she made it to the skiffs and leapt onto the first one she could.

“Retreat!” she yelled out across the camp. The call was echoed as the soldiers turned and ran from the Rebellion forces. In the distance, Catra thought she could see the telltale glow of She-Ra but she was already piloting the skiff away from the base- and from Glimmer, Shadow Weaver’s new apprentice. Tears pricked her eyes at this realization. _Why was I never good enough for you? Why her?_ she thought. As the skiff flew away she tried not to look at the newly crowned sorceress, or the all too familiar power she wielded.

The second time Glimmer used her power, it was practically a non-event. Catra had finally fled from the Horde. Scorpia, of all people, had not only let Hordak know she was responsible for sending Entrapta to Beast Island, but told him herself. Fleeing through the hallways of the Fright Zone, she wouldn’t have made it out alive had Scorpia not let her. _It was for your own good, Wildcat,_ she had said. _You can’t be here anymore. You’ve gone where I can’t follow_. Those had been the last words she had spoken to her, leaving Catra’s heart heavy from the betrayal. If Scorpia had been discovered a traitor and punished or if Hordak had been too focused on catching Catra that he missed her act of betrayal Catra wouldn’t know, and didn’t know if she cared.

Fleeing the Horde with what little she had, she made her way in any direction that wasn’t the Fright Zone or Bright Moon. She had considered surrendering or even trying to join multiple times, but she couldn’t swallow her pride to beg for forgiveness. Especially not when _she_ was there. She couldn’t trust anyone in Bright Moon, not when any of them could be falling under her spell. Not that Shadow Weaver needed to do anything, given the fact that everyone wanted her dead now. Even Adora. The thought made her shudder, and made the pain in her side blossom for a moment, leaving her wincing and patting futilely at the wound.

She hadn’t planned on getting it, but neither had she planned on being discovered. A run in with a Horde patrol a few weeks after her escape had her running anywhere to avoid her pursuers. Said anywhere ended up being the Kingdom of Snows, the worst place for a runaway with no winter clothing or food to end up in. One of the soldiers had gotten a lucky shot and grazed her side; not enough to knock her out but enough to burn her badly. She had lost them in a snowstorm, but then she had found herself stranded. With her luck she figured she would freeze to death and save everyone the trouble, but she found a small cave in one of the cliffs that provided shelter. Now here she was, huddling in an icy hole, waiting for a fatal blizzard to pass so she could go back to being hunted by everyone on the planet.

Settling in to sleep through the blizzard, Catra closed her eyes and tried to sleep through the howling winds outside. It hadn’t been long before a voice was calling out from beyond the cave and woke her up. Straining her ears to hear, she could barely make it out.

“Adora? Ado-“ the wind howled, drowning them out. “-re are you? Can anyone hear me?” the voice called out. Catra prayed silently to anything that they wouldn’t find her hiding spot, and that of all people, it wouldn’t actually be Glimmer. Apparently, she had prayed to the wrong thing, as both of those things happened. Shielding her face from the storm, Glimmer ran into the cave, shivering from the cold. Unlike Catra, she was dressed in heavier clothes for the environment. And unlike Catra, she hadn’t seen the other person yet.

Catra would have loved to take advantage of the opportunity in front of her, she really would have. Instead, she was half frozen, starving, and exhausted from losing the patrol that she could only sit there and watch as Glimmer took note of her surroundings and locked eyes with Catra.

“You!” Glimmer yelled.

“Me,” Catra retorted weakly.

Raising her hand, dark energy materialized, wrapping around Catra and slamming her into the wall.

“So you’re the one behind this attack? Not so tough now without your soldiers to back you up,” Glimmer said. She clenched her fist and the field around Catra tightened, squeezing the air out of her lungs. “Where are the rest of your soldiers? How many are with you? Who else is here? What are you after?”

Catra chuckled even though doing so felt like it would cost her a rib. “There’s no one else here but me. And as for the soldiers, they’re not after anything but me.” The magic tightened again.

“You’re lying. Why would the Horde go after one of their own?”

“Because I’m not one of the Horde anymore! Now stop crushing me I don’t have anything else to tell you!”

“Oh, you want me to stop? When has someone wanting you to stop ever made you? Did it make you stop when you kidnapped me and Bow? Did it stop you from attacking Bright Moon? Did it stop you from _killing my mom?_” With each question, Glimmer’s grip tightened, drawing the magic closer and closer around Catra, until she couldn’t breathe anymore. As her vision went dark, Catra made peace with the fact she would never have peace. Too many regrets, unresolved and left to lie until she had rotted away inside. _Perhaps it was better this way, rather than a life on the run_, she thought. _At least Adora didn’t have to do it_. The last of her air escaped, and she did not.

Waking up was something Catra had not expected, but welcomed all the same. Gasping as she woke, the first thing she saw was that the storm was still raging on. Rolling over, she saw that Glimmer was still in the cave. Hunched in on herself, she was pressing her face into her knees and it looked like she had been crying.

“Why didn’t you kill me,” Catra rasped, coughing as she tried speaking again. Glimmer didn’t respond, so Catra began doing a self checkup. First was the wound on her side. Thankfully it hadn’t worsened during their, well, not a fight, since it was entirely one-sided, but fight was close enough. Her ribs were certainly bruised, but thankfully not broken. Pulling up her shirt, she could see a purple mash of bruises coating her stomach and sides, and likely her back too.

“Did I do that?” Glimmer asked quietly.

“Do you see anyone els-“ Catra devolved into coughing as she tried to speak. Deciding sass wasn’t good for her health, she opted for “yes”. Glimmer looked at the bruises for another few seconds before burying her face again.

“I’ve never killed anyone before’” Glimmer said. “I promised myself that after my dad died, I would never kill anyone and sink to the Horde’s level. I always thought it would be easy to avoid. Just, punch them, or teleport them just high enough, or hit them with my staff. I didn’t know I would be so angry, so- so filled with hatred.”

Catra listened silently as Glimmer spoke. When she paused, Catra took a chance. As she was now, she wouldn’t be able to get out of here alone.

“I know what that’s like. When I opened the portal I. I didn’t feel anything. I just felt cold. I knew I might die, but I accepted it. I thought, ‘any world without this pain would be better, even if it wasn’t anything at all’. And now look where it got me.”

Glimmer scooted closer to Catra, angry now. Catra leaned away but in her condition she couldn’t go anywhere.

“I am nothing like you. I don’t hate the world, I just hate the people that would destroy it.”

“Then why didn’t you kill me?” Catra repeated.

“Because I don’t want to become a monster like you!” Glimmer yelled. She was standing now, leaning over Catra. Suddenly she stepped back, scrubbing at her eyes again.

“That’s why I let you live. Not because I wanted to, but because I couldn’t bear the thought of becoming a vengeful husk of a person. Just. Like. You.” Finished speaking, she sat back down.

The two of them sat in silence, watching the blizzard. The storm was slowly but surely weakening, and soon the two of them could leave. Catra sat still, mired in her guilt and regret. Inside of her, something broke. As the storm ended, Glimmer stood up and began walking towards the entrance.

“Wait!” Catra called out. Glimmer turned and stood ready to fight. Catra paused to breathe in and let what she was doing to sink in, and then continued.

“I don’t think your mom is dead. Not yet.”

Glimmer stomped over to her, grabbing and pulling her up by her collar.

“Then what happened to her. This better not be some kind of trick,” she said. 

Speaking quickly, Catra continued. “Entrapta said that people inside the portal don’t die, they’re just trapped between dimensions. If you could open another portal, one just to there, you could pull someone out of it.”

“And where are we supposed to find someone who can do that? Should I go back to the Fright Zone and beg Hordak to let me open a portal?”

Catra looked down as shame overtook her. “You won’t need to go that far. Entrapta’s on Beast Island. And if anyone could survive it, she would. She’s there and not at the Fright Zone because… because I betrayed her and sent her there.” Glimmer lifted her up a little higher.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth? How do I know this isn’t some elaborate trap?” Catra waved to the snow around her.

“I have nothing. Nothing to gain and nothing to lose. The only thing I have left are my mistakes, and I can’t stand them.”

Glimmer looked at her for a long moment, before unceremoniously dropping Catra onto the floor. Reaching into her coat, she pulled out some bandages and food. She dropped them at Catra’s feet and began to walk away, but looked back at her one last time.

“This is just so you can stay alive long enough so that I can hunt you down myself if it turns out you’re lying. I don’t want to ever see you again.” With that she vanished in a cloud of sparkles that were a darker, ruddier color than her usual pink. Catra looked at the space Glimmer had been in before huffing and picked up the supplies.

“Princesses,” she muttered and began bandaging herself.

The third time Glimmer used her new power on Catra, she had every reason to not see it coming. She had survived the long and arduous trek out of the Kingdom of Snows and found herself back into the unknown. Said unknown was filled with bandits and other such types, which she had no problem forcing to recognize her as their leader. Unwilling to get on the Rebellion’s bad side, she chose the only target worth going after: the Horde. It was a tough sell to her crew, many having been refugees from the Horde’s war machine, but after the first few successful raids she was sure they would follow her if she told them she was going to take Hordak’s head herself.

Of course news of a small army attacking the Horde would make it’s way to the Rebellion, and of course the two worst people to see her would be the ones to extend the hand of friendship, and _of course_ they would see her before she saw them and turn the hand of friendship into the fist of in the face. The punch Glimmer gave to Catra was laden with dark magic, sending her flying back farther than a normal blow would have. Before she could get back up to tell her crew to stand down, they were already charging at the two princesses. One quick transformation into an eight-foot tall princess of legend and a few sparkle blasts later and she was stuck on her own against the last two people she ever wanted to see again. The familiar feel of magic wrapped around her, pulling her off the ground.

“What are you planning Catra?” Adora said, pointing the sword at her chest. Before, Catra could have rested easily knowing she would have never driven the blade forward. But now, she was not so sure.

“Nothing! I just wanted to make a nice, quiet life outside of the Horde and to not be attacked by the Rebellion. We haven’t done anything to you, so why are you here?” Catra asked angrily.

“Oh yeah, could have fooled me, what with you trying to destroy the planet and all” Adora said, pushing the sword an inch closer. 

“She might be telling the truth,” Glimmer said. Adora and Catra turned to her at the same time.

“What?” they said simultaneously.

“I didn’t tell you the truth. Or, the whole truth about what happened when we got separated in the Kingdom of Snows. She was the one who told us Entrapta was on Beast Island and that mom was alive.”

Adora lowered her sword and looked at Catra. “You helped Glimmer? Why?”

“I couldn’t live with myself anymore,” she answered truthfully. “Even before I lost everything, the pain was too much to handle, so it was either do something about it or eventually I would decide to just... stop living.”

“Catra!” Adora said in shock. “You wouldn’t actually-“ Catra growled.

“Yes Adora, I would and I tried. Do you think I knew what would happen when I opened the portal, that we wouldn’t all just stop existing then and there? I thought it would be over, that I would have finally gotten the better of you. Yet here we are, and I’ve lost.” Adora’s sword had fallen to her side now and she couldn’t look Catra in the eye. Glimmer placed a hand on her arm to comfort her before looking over to Catra.

“I don’t care what you wanted then or what you want now. I told you to stay out of my sight. Now I can’t let you leave it, or you’ll start to build an army against us again,” she growled.

“I wasn’t building an army against you I was building an army against the Horde!” Catra shouted. “What made you think I wanted anything to do with you?”

“Glimmer, she’s right,” Adora said. “She hasn’t done anything this time. We could-“

“Do what? Let her go? Tell me that she wouldn’t just keep adding to her little army until it was strong enough to do some real damage? How long until she tried to take over the Horde? How long until she could take on Bright Moon? No. She’s a danger and a liability and she’s coming with us,” Glimmer said firmly. Catra wanted to protest but Adora was agreeing with her fully now. There was no way she was getting out of it yet. Maybe if she could stall them, she could run when they were distracted on the way back.

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” Catra said, feigning boredom. Rather than pull out ropes Glimmer reached out to Adora and Catra and grabbed them both. In an instant they were sucked into darkness that receded just as quickly, revealing the inner walls of Bright Moon’s castle. Catra gaped at the sight, and any hope of escaping them died. They had to have been hundreds of miles from Bright Moon. Had Glimmer really grown so powerful in such a short time?

“Alright move it prisoner. We’ll be heading to my room since the prison is already taken,” Glimmer said, prodding Catra in the back.

“I can take her,” Adora offered.

“Adora, I trust you would watch her, but she has the best shot of manipulating you out of all of us,” Glimmer said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Adora said as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, just let me know if you need any help handling her,” Adora said as she left. As Glimmer walked towards her room, Catra had no choice but to follow.

“So where am I sleeping? You have a spare bed I can use or what?” she asked.

“My bed is big enough. If I gave you your own bed you would just escape when I wasn’t looking. This way I can keep an eye on you at all times.” Glimmer eyed her suspiciously. “You gave up quick. What are you planning?”

Catra shot her an aggrieved look. “I am in the middle of Bright Moon, surrounded by princesses, Rebellion soldiers, and a magic forest that makes people disappear, and beyond that is the strongest empire on the planet that _also_ wants me dead. Tell me one thing I could do to get me away from all of that and I’ll do it.”

You don’t need to get smart with me” Glimmer grumbled.

As the two of them walked down the hall, the shadows suddenly coalesced into a tall figure in front of them.

“Glimmer, I sensed your return. How was your mission did you- _you_!” Shadow Weaver hissed.

“Yeah, me,” Catra spat. The two of them stepped back readying themselves for a fight when Glimmer stepped between them.

“No! No fighting! In fact, I don’t want either of you to even look at each other! If anyone would conspire with each other it would be you two,” she yelled.

“Oh trust me, we would do anything but work together,” Catra said, not taking her eyes off of Shadow Weaver.

“As much as I loathe it, I have to agree with her. I would sooner destroy her for her disrespect than work with her. Come now Glimmer, do you really need to keep around such an unpleasant _thing_?” Shadow Weaver asked, gesturing at Catra at her last word.

“Yes. And she’s not a thing, she’s my prisoner, just like you are. Don’t forget who’s in charge here,” Glimmer said unflinchingly as she stepped in front of Shadow Weaver. The shadows behind her twisted menacingly before retreating.

“Of course your majesty, how could I forget,” Shadow Weaver said as she bowed slightly. “I’ll be sure to avoid her as much as you want. And don’t forget we have lessons tomorrow. I would like to see if you can handle some more advanced spells. They should be of no problem for someone as powerful as yourself, unless of course you haven’t been trying hard enough.” Without further warning, she stepped back and vanished into the shadows. Glimmer carried on walking as if nothing had happened.

“Come on Catra we don’t have all night,” she said calling back to her. Catra stood still as if struck. Couldn’t she see? Couldn’t Glimmer see that Shadow Weaver was just using her? That her “help” was clearly just Shadow Weaver using her to get what she wanted? Then it hit her: Glimmer didn’t know that she was being used. She didn’t recognize the ceaseless hunger that was Shadow Weaver’s ambition. She couldn’t have been here long and was already reaching to control the queen on the throne. _Correction, soon to be heiress to the throne if their portal plan works out,_ Catra thought as she jogged to catch up. She felt no kindness towards Glimmer, but like hell was she letting Shadow Weaver have her way.

“So where is this bed?” Catra said as she looked around Glimmer’s room. The princess teleported and reappeared high up atop a floating bed. She looked down smugly at Catra.

“It’s up here. If you need the stairs to get up here then you might want to get started,” Glimmer said as she looked down at her.

_Ha. Stairs_, Catra thought. She didn’t need those. Mapping out a quick path in her head, she leapt from one object to the next and with an unnecessary flip, gracefully landed next to Glimmer. She turned to face her and was pleased to see the look of surprise on her face. There was something else there, but it was gone before she could get a better look.

“Well. Congratulations,” Glimmer huffed. As the two lay down, Glimmer turned to face Catra.

“I don’t trust you to not attack me or try to escape, but I do know you wouldn’t do anything that would get you nothing in return. But if you try anything, I will end you,” she said as she lay down.

Rolling her eyes at Glimmer’s threats, Catra turned away from her. While Glimmer quickly fell asleep, Catra was left awake with her thoughts. She was intimately aware of how close she was to another person she could, in a weird way, trust to not betray her. She hadn’t slept in the same room with someone else since Adora shared a room with her so long ago. She was surprised by how comforting it was to not be alone at night anymore, even if it was with an enemy. Curling in on herself, she went to sleep and tried not to feel too soothed by the sound of Glimmer’s breathing.

The fourth time Glimmer attacked Catra with her powers, she had it coming. Two weeks had passed since her capture, and she hadn’t settled in yet. 

The morning after she arrived, she woke up as she felt Glimmer stir next to her. Not wanting to start the day any sooner than it had to, Catra pretended to be asleep, hoping to steal a few more minutes. She could feel Glimmer moving next to her, rolling over, sitting up, stretching, and then just sitting there. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but she guessed she was… watching her? She couldn’t tell for certain. Glimmer teleported away abruptly, leaving an empty spot next to Catra. A few minutes later she reappeared and woke Catra up.

“Come on. I’ve called an emergency meeting with the Princess Alliance. You’re gonna need to be introduced,” she said as she shook Catra awake.

As soon as they arrived at the meeting hall Glimmer jumped right into an interrogation. Judging by the surprise on everyone’s faces, no one other than Adora and Shadow Weaver knew that Catra was staying with them indefinitely. Holding no allegiance to the Horde, Catra spilled information on every mine, factory, and vital outpost she knew of and as much of the Horde’s inner workings as she could. Immediately after she found herself back in Glimmer’s room as the alliance met to use what she gave them. Bow had been left to watch over her to make sure she didn’t try anything when no one was watching. He, in his friendly self, had tried to strike up a conversation while they were waiting for the meeting to finish.

“So,” he said, dragging out the “o”. “What made you join us?” he asked.

“Glimmer didn’t give me much of a choice,” Catra grumbled. “Do you have any food? I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

Bow called over to one of the guards, who returned with a plate of food. Catra ate it swiftly, unsure of when she would get another meal. As Bow watched her eat, he seemed excited, but as she didn’t stop his face fell.

“What?” Catra asked between bites. “Is something on my face?”

“No it’s just. When Adora tried food from outside the Horde, she really loved it. I think half the reason she left was because she liked it so much,” he joked.

Catra slowed down and paid attention to what she was eating. It wasn’t bad at all, and was actually way better than anything she had ever had before. Grudgingly, she only nodded and grunted in agreement. She had appearances to keep after all.

“I can’t sit around and savor everything. I don’t know when or if you’ll feed me again” she said, tucking a piece of bread into her sleeve. Bow was aghast.

“Not feed you? What kind of monsters do you think we are? Even Shadow Weaver gets food. Eep!” Bow squeaked at the end of his sentence. Catra was confused, but noticed her fur was standing on end and she was growling. Forcing herself to relax, she went back to eating her food and tried to pretend nothing had happened. Bow didn’t seem to get the message and pressed on.

“So I’m guessing you and Shadow Weaver don’t get along?” he asked.

“Get along? She practically tried to kill me!” Catra cried. “Hasn’t Adora told you anything?”

Bow shook his head. “Just that you two were kinda raised by her and that she was incredibly cunning and deceitful, and an awful person.”

“Huh. At least she told you the important parts. Well listen up. Shadow Weaver is the most dangerous person in this entire castle, save for She-Ra. She’ll hold back from hurting people as long as she needs to for you to drop your guard, and then the second she gets power over you, she pries her way inside of you, slowly carving out what she doesn’t like or what won’t obey her. And she’ll never have to raise a hand against you. Not until it’s too late. By then, she’ll have gotten you to drive everyone else away from you and then make you rely on her, make you think you need her instead of the other way around. Your friend Glimmer is in danger. She’s already in Shadow Weaver’s grip, and she won’t let go of someone that powerful. She didn’t with Adora and she won’t with Glimmer. If I told anyone else, they wouldn’t believe me, or think I was trying to get you to not use her power. But she’s not the one being used here. You know what’s happening isn’t right, don’t you.” Finishing her speech left her heart pounding and tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Bow looked terrified.

“I know that she’s dangerous, but Glimmer has Adora, and she knows all of Shadow Weaver’s tricks and can spot them a mile away,” he said. He seemed to be trying to comfort himself more than Catra. Bow jumped as Catra banged her fist on the wall.

“No she doesn’t!” she yelled. The guards peered in and left only after Bow shooed them away.

“No she doesn’t,” Catra continued, quieter. “She’s doesn’t know it like this, like I do. She thinks Shadow Weaver has to hurt the people you care about, to make them suffer for your failures to be hurt by her. But she’s worse. She can make you feel like you could never live up to anything she tells you to be, and that unless you play her games you would be better off dead.”

Bow looked pained at this point and opened his mouth to speak, but the door swung open as Glimmer walked into the room followed closely by Adora.

“Alright. She stays, for now,” Glimmer announced. Catra didn’t ask what the alternative was. “Adora says that what she gave us is good info, so she’ll have to find something to do around here rather than waste away in my room.”

“I’m right here you know,” Catra said. Glimmer stepped towards her, a fire in her eyes.

“Well if you wanted to be respected, maybe you should have thought of that before you worked for the Horde!” Glimmer replied. Before they could continue Bow and Adora stepped between them, pulling them apart. Huffing as Adora stepped back, Glimmer turned back towards Catra.

“I don’t know what you can do for us, but until we have reason to trust you even a little bit, you’ll just have to find something other than fighting in the Rebellion,” she said.

The rest of the week involved Catra trying to do just that. Working with Adora had seemed the obvious choice, but after one day together they decided that it was too painful for the both of them, that the wounds were too fresh to be working together again. Each princess she worked with had problems with her as well, refusing to spend another day with her. With Mermista, it was the saltwater and Catra’s vehement aversion to it, Perfuma had too many flowers and Catra spent the entire day sneezing, and while Frosta claimed it was an accident that she had frozen Catra’s feet in place, no one really believed her. 

Catra hadn’t even known Entrapta was in Bright Moon until she swung in through a window as she was walking by. Before she could say anything, she had swung out the same window just as quickly. She had spent the rest of the week trying to find her again to apologize, to say anything, but Entrapta was evasive, and Emily refused Catra entry to her room at laser point. Giving up on talking to her directly, Catra convinced the kitchen staff to make a batch of tiny cookies in the shape of animals and left the plate on top of Emily as a sign she was sorry for what she had done. Entrapta still didn’t speak to her, but Emily no longer booted up her weapons when she walked by and she saw her swinging through the castle more often, so she figured Entrapta was accepting her apology in her own way.

At the end of two weeks into her stay at Bright Moon, she still hadn’t found something to do and it was looking more and more likely that she would have to spend the days alone in Glimmers room. She hadn’t even tried to work with Glimmer. All she did was her duties to the kingdom and take lessons from Shadow Weaver, and Catra wouldn’t even walk down the hall the prison was in. The other thing on her mind was that Glimmer kept watching her in the morning. It wasn’t as long as the first morning or every morning, but it was noticeable even when it was a brief few seconds. Catra didn’t mind it as she was used to sharing a room with someone else, but she was curious. She was in one of the courtyards when Glimmer stomped in and let out an frustrated yell and began pacing while talking to herself. Curious to see what had riled her up so much, Catra approached her slowly.

“-believe she won’t teach me the advanced set. I’m ready! What does she think I’m doing all day? I spend hours training and trying to run the kingdom for what? Basics? I’m sick of her!”

As Glimmer finished her spiel, she sat on the ground. Closing her eyes as she held her hands out in front of her, a magic circle slowly appeared as she moved her hands. Catra, having no concern for the exhaustion Glimmer was feeling, popped up behind her.

“Ooh, what’s that?” she asked, causing Glimmer to yelp in surprise, ruining the circle she was drawing.

“Can’t you see I’m busy?” Glimmer asked as she started focusing again.

“Well I just wanted to know what you were doing. It doesn’t look like much,” Catra said. Glimmer clenched her eyes and tried to go back to forming the circle.

“Hey, you missed a spot,” Catra said, pointing at a crack in the spell. Glimmer yelled as she threw up her hands, breaking the circle.

“Is there something you want? Or are you trying to make me angry?” Glimmer asked, clearly upset that Catra was there.

“No and yes,” Catra said. “I’m bored. Let’s spar.” Glimmer look of annoyance shifted to confusion. “What? You’ve never fought Adora when the two of you were upset?” Catra asked. Glimmer shook her head.

“Well don’t knock it until you try it,” Catra said. “C’mon, lets just go a round or two. I’m sure you’ve been dying to try some magic out on someone who didn’t fall over after one hit.”

Hesitantly Glimmer stood. As the two of them went to either end of the courtyrd, Catra crouched as she got ready to leap. Glimmer moved first, summoning her staff and teleporting next to Catra, swinging it towards her head. Ducking under the blow, Catra feinted a swipe at her face, but instead kicked at her legs, knocking her down. The two of them traded blows for a few minutes, with neither gaining the upper hand. Seeking to finish the fight, Catra paused and smirked at Glimmer.

“What’s the matter? Didn’t your parents teach you how to fight?” she taunted. It got her the reaction she wanted, but it was the wrong thing to say. Letting out an angry roar, Glimmer swung her arm, hurling a wave of shadowy energy at Catra. Expecting it, she easily rolled to the side and kept moving, dodging blast after blast as she ran. Hiding behind a statue, she waited until Glimmer teleported close to her before she tackled her, pressing the points of her claws to her throat.

“It’s over. I win,” she said. Glimmer didn’t stop however, smashing a bolt of red energy into her chest, pushing her off and sending her reeling. The second blast froze her in place, leaving her unable to do anything but watch as Glimmer approached.

“Don’t you ever, _ever_, make fun of my parents again,” she said. Catra would have nodded, or said sorry or done anything to break free, but Glimmer had her pinned.

“Well done Glimmer. I had thought you weren’t ready for this level of magic, but clearly I was underestimating you,” a voice called out. Stepping out of the shadows, Shadow Weaver appeared.

“Look at her. She can’t move at all. Completely helpless! It took me years to perfect this technique and you’ve mastered it in months. I am very impressed,” she said. Despite her wariness, Catra could see Glimmer was enjoying the praise. As Shadow Weaver stepped next to her, she placed her hands on Glimmer’s shoulders and leaned down next to her ear.

“Doesn’t it feel wonderful? The power you have, the control it gives you? It’s a feeling like none other.” Raising her hand, Shadow Weaver pinned Catra’s arms to her sides and turned her towards the two of them.

“She is entirely at your mercy. If you wanted to, you could dispose of her at any time you chose.” As she raised her hand, Catra felt her own hand raise against her volition.

“Think of the power you wield. With this, no one will hurt you again. No one will take away the people you care about, and no one will stop you from taking what you deserve,” she hissed into Glimmer’s ear. Catra wanted to yell that this was wrong, that anyone who wanted power like this was mad, or a cruel tyrant who would never care about the lives of those they controlled. But instead Glimmer was silent, looking thoughtfully at Catra. The energy around her vanished suddenly, dropping her to the ground, her chest heaving with fear.

“I don’t know. This doesn’t feel right. I could use it in a fight, but this is just practice,” Glimmer said. From in front of them, Catra could see Shadow Weaver’s fingers curl as the shadows writhed behind her.

“Don’t tell me you feel any sympathy for her! After all she did to you, to your _mother_, how could you see her as anything but an enemy to be destroyed!” Shadow Weaver bellowed, pointing at Catra. Glimmer turned around to face Shadow Weaver and looked up at her.

“Because she’s not my enemy! I may not like her, but she’s under our protection now, and we don’t hurt people just because we can! Or have you forgotten that you’re a prisoner just like her?”

Shadow Weaver recoiled at her words, growing taller in the darkness and Catra pulled back as if she had raised a hand to strike. But instead the shadows settled and Shadow Weaver lowered herself to the floor.

“Of course your majesty. How could I forget. I will be sure to follow your example,” she crooned. “I will see you tomorrow, bright and early for your training. Don’t be late,” she said as she drifted out of the room. Glimmer walked over to Catra, who flinched as she reached her hand out. Instead of an attack, Glimmer leaned down and grabbed her hand to pull Catra up.

“I’m sorry about her. She’s not usually like that. She’s more, ‘blah blah do your practice, you’re not ready’ and less… creepy.” Catra wanted to laugh. Shadow Weaver? Not like that? Glimmer was in way over her head and Catra would have told her as much if she thought it would do any good. No, she would have to wait for Shadow Weaver to play her hand first. Then, she could take her down. Permanently. Instead of saying any of this she quietly stood up.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m sorry for what I said about your parents. They were probably good people.” Glimmer looked floored. Catra felt like she had stepped over her bounds again when Glimmer looked away.

“I’m sorry. I forgot that Shadow Weaver was the one who raised you,” Glimmer said as she began idly playing with Catra’s hand. “I guess to you she’s always been a bit creepy and awful and kinda like a mom but not really, but I think I have her under control. She hasn’t tried anything yet, and if it comes to it I know I can at least count on you to help me stop her,” she said. _You don’t even know_, Catra thought. _I might not be able to stop her now, but I_ will _get my revenge_.

“Yeah, awful is one way to put it,” Catra said as the two of them began walking out of the courtyard. As they walked back to Glimmer’s room, Catra’s curiosity got the better of her.

“Hey so why do you stare at me every morning? I’m not bothered I’m just curious,” she said nonchalantly. Glimmer stuttered and looked away, blushing slightly.

“Well I wasn’t _staring_ at you, and not really on purpose, it’s just that,” Glimmer paused.

“That?” Catra asked, interested now.

“It’s just that I never thought someone who was full of so much pain and anger could look so peaceful,” Glimmer finished. Catra’s ears flattened. She was regretting asking.

“Not that you’re filled with it, it’s just you’ve made a lot of bad decisions, decisions that you regret and have made efforts to undo, and you seem happier now even if you haven’t been able to do anything although- oh I’m rambling aren’t I,” Glimmer rambled. Catra didn’t mind her talking. She was tired from their fight and was ready to sleep, and Glimmer’s voice was surprisingly soothing.

“No you’re good,” she said. “I wasn’t doing things that were good. For me or anyone else.”

As they walked through the halls, Bow came running down the hall and stopped when he saw them.

“Is everything okay? The guards told me you two were fighting and then Shadow Weaver was there and then and then- I don’t know! Are you guys holding hands?” Bow asked. The two of them looked down and saw that yes, they were. Both of them dropped the others hands and looked back to Bow.

“Don’t worry about it. Me and Catra were just sparring. It was a learning experience and I think I could definitely learn how to fight better if I train with her more,” Glimmer said, surprising the two of them. “Want to go again tomorrow? I was thinking of making it a regular thing, and since you ran the Horde for a while I was thinking you could help me with some of the day to day stuff for the kingdom. So how about it?” Glimmer asked.

“Sure,” Catra agreed after a moment of thinking it over. Bow smiled.

“I’m glad the two of you are getting along!” he said cheerily. “Hey do you guys want to come along to my dads’ library any time soon? They want us to check in with them now that they know we’re fighting for our lives on a daily basis.”

“Sorry Bow, but I’m too busy this week. I have to go to all of Shadow Weaver’s lessons, or I won’t be strong enough for our next fight with the Horde,” Glimmer said apologetically. Bow shared a look with Catra.

“Right. I’ll just tell them we’re busy. See you guys tomorrow!” he said as he left. As the two of them got into her room, Glimmer smiled at her.

“Hey. Thanks. I needed that. Doing all of my royal duties and having Shadow Weaver hovering around really takes it out of a girl, you know?” she asked.

“Yeah. Running the Horde wasn’t easy, especially when Hordak was always ready to chop my head off for the slightest mistake,” she said, giving a small grin in return. Another question, one that had been nagging at her since the fight bubbled to the surface.

“So back with Shadow Weaver, you said I wasn’t your enemy anymore. What was that all about?” Glimmer looked confused for a second and then laughed nervously.

“Oh. Um. Well since you haven’t really been against us lately, and what with you telling me about my mom and Entrapta and spending your first chance at freedom fighting the Horde, I figured that if you weren’t an enemy, then maybe you could be a friend? Me and Adora have been talking about you -well I’ve been asking about you and she’s been telling me about the two of you since you were really close, and while she isn’t sure how she feels about you, she wants to give you another chance, and so do I. It’s been two weeks since you joined us and you really have been trying to help, even if it hasn’t been going so well, but the point is, is that you’ve helped us. That and Adora said that you didn’t seem to be up to anything and that you seem to care about us in your own way, but that’s not as important,” she said hastily, laughing nervously again. “Well, um. Goodnight!”

As the two of them lay down for the night, Catra’s mind wandered. She despised Shadow Weaver and everything she sought to achieve and had started out her mission being driven solely by spite and anger to stop her work in Bright Moon. But was that now the only reason? Was revenge her only goal? Glimmer could be her friend, if she tried and made amends. But Scorpia had been her friend too, and she cut ties with her, just like everyone else had. But maybe things could be different. Listening to Glimmer’s even breaths as she fell asleep, she decided that Shadow Weaver wouldn’t, couldn’t win. She wasn’t going to stand by and let it all happen again.

The fifth time Glimmer used her sorcery, everything had already gone wrong and Catra was ready. Now, she and Adora were all that stood between Shadow Weaver and Glimmer’s combined might, and the Moonstone. Glimmer’s usually bright pink energy had sunken into a purple aura around her, and her eyes had begun to glow the same color.

“Adora, please! Don’t try and stop me,” Glimmer said. “Please! I need to do this. No one will be hurt again!”

Adora hadn’t shifted into She Ra yet and tears had begun to run down her face.

“I’m sorry Glimmer. I should have realized what she was doing, how she was making you feel like you couldn’t save anyone. I know what that feels like! Let me help you!” Adora pleaded. Glimmer began to advance.

“I’m sorry Adora, but that’s not a price I’m willing to let you pay,” she said.

For weeks, Shadow Weaver had been plotting something big. The day before they were supposed to activate the portal, Shadow Weaver had asked to speak to Glimmer in private, setting all of Catra’s alarms off. By the time she had pulled Bow and Adora behind her, it was too late. That evening Glimmer had sent all of the princesses out on missions far away enough that even if they could activate the beacon to warn them it would be too late. Bow stood frozen in red lightning with one of his trick arrows notched, taken out of the fight before it began. As Glimmer advanced on the Moonstone, Shadow Weaver floated in front of it, drawing a dark circle around the stone itself. Her mask had fallen away, revealing blood red eyes scarred by dark magic and tendrils of shadow pulsing like veins across her face.

“Come Glimmer, do not let them stand in your way. If we do not hurry we will be unable to unlock the full power of the Moonstone. You aren’t ready for all of it’s power so if I do not channel it, your powers will be insufficient and all will be lost. Come! I cannot sustain this spell much longer,” Shadow Weaver shouted from above them. The circle she drew turned dark purple and wisps of shadow began leaking off of it as it became an angular prism surrounding the Moonstone, casting the tower in a deep purple light. As she manipulated the magic, Glimmer’s aura dimmed and she groaned in pain as Shadow Weaver pulled energy from her. Catra hissed at the sound and crouched to leap.

“I’m sorry,” Glimmer repeated. Flickering out of sight she reappeared beneath the Moonstone and raised her hands to touch the prism. Faster still, Catra lunged forward and tackled her out from beneath it, pinning her down.

“Come on Sparkles! Can’t you see she’s just using you?” Catra yelled. Glimmer was unmoved as she blasted shadows where Catra had been crouching a second earlier.

“You’re making a mistake Catra! You couldn’t understand why I’m doing this,” Glimmer yelled. She fired another bolt of magic towards Catra, but Adora deflected it with her shield.

“Adora! Don’t do this!” Glimmer cried as she fired repeatedly at them. Adora braced against the magic with her shield, barely withstanding the onslaught.

“Glimmer, you have to listen to me! This isn’t right! You know what Shadow Weaver has done to me, to us! How can you think she can be trusted with the Moonstone?” Adora asked.

“Because I’m not strong enough!” Glimmer cried. “She was right. I couldn’t get us out of the Fright Zone, I couldn’t stop Catra from taking you to Hordak, and I couldn’t save mom!” Tears were now streaming down both of their faces. “Please. Don’t make me have to fight you. I won’t hurt you, but I can’t let you stand in my way.”

Adora wiped her eyes and raised her sword. Before she could transform, Glimmer teleported above her, grabbing her arm and pulling it forward, where she threw her over her shoulder and onto the ground. _At least all that sparring taught her something_, Catra thought grimly.

As Glimmer walked forward Adora wrapped her arms around Glimmer, holding her from reaching the stone. While she was keeping her in place, Catra watched Shadow Weaver. So far, she was too busy concentrating on drawing arcane sigils for whatever spell she was casting to focus on the fight below her, so she turned her attention back to Glimmer. Rather that attack Adora, Glimmer pushed her off and teleported, now standing right beneath Shadow Weaver. As she fired bolt after bolt of paralyzing magic towards Adora, Catra tackled her from behind, latching onto her back. Rather than harm her, Catra opted for a different approach.

“Since when did you get so weak? Relying on Shadow Weaver? Fighting Adora because she told you to? How much longer until you end up just like me- full of anger and regret. If you’re willing to hurt Adora now, how much longer until you’re trying to kill her,” she taunted.

“I am nothing like you!” Glimmer howled as a wave of dark magic pulsed out from her, throwing Catra back and smashed into Adora and Shadow Weaver, sending them both reeling. As Adora cried out in pain, Glimmer gasped and teleported next to her, catching Adora as she collapsed. Catra turned to Shadow Weaver and saw her lying unmoving on the floor. Whatever magic she had been crafting had been dispelled in the blast, so she turned back to Adora and Glimmer. _Oh_, she thought. They were, what was the word, kissing? Adora had pulled herself to her feet and was kissing Glimmer, who stood stock still as Adora pulled back.

“Please,” Adora said softly. “We can do this together. You’re not alone. As long as you have us, we can do anything.” Catra was glad for them. Truly, she was. They were perfect for each other. _So why does it hurt so much_, she thought.

“C’mon you two, we have to secure Shadow Weaver before she tries anything else,” Catra called. As she turned towards Shadow Weaver, it was too late. The sorceress was already on her feet and raised a hand towards Catra.

“I should have killed you the first chance I had,” she said, her voice ragged from exertion. As she pointed, a ray of shadow darker and faster than anything Catra had ever seen her use before shot out and knew immediately she couldn’t move out of the way in time. Bracing for the end, she squeezed her eyes shut, but it never came. Opening her eyes she saw the shadow hover inches from her face before flying back at Shadow Weaver. The sorceress dispelled it as it came towards her, barely avoiding her own fatal blow. Turning, Catra saw Adora and Glimmer standing next to each other.

“You don’t get to hurt my friends anymore!” Glimmer yelled. Hurling blast after blast of magic at her, it was all Shadow Weaver could do to withstand the assault. Moving in between the blasts, Catra brought her claws up and dragged them down through Shadow Weaver’s eyes. As she screamed and reeled back, Adora brought her sword up and swung it down, cleaving through Shadow Weavers chest. As the blade passed through her, a wail closer to an inhuman screech was released as hundreds of shadows shot out from her body, flying off in all directions. As the noise settled, all that remained of Shadow Weaver were her robes, tattered and cleaved in two.

“We did it,” Adora said numbly, unable to believe her eyes.

“We did it,” Catra said, feeling as though the sun was shining on her for the first time in a long while.

“We did it,” Glimmer said, a sense of shame gnawing at her relief. She looked at the ruin around them.

“I did this,” Glimmer said as she looked around her. Bow had been unharmed by Glimmer’s paralysis magic and was now running towards them, but the rest of the tower was scarred from their fight and both Catra and Adora bore wounds from the magic Glimmer had wielded.

“No,” Catra said. “Shadow Weaver did this. The three of us were used by her, made to feel like we were nothing without her, and she turned us against each other. You couldn’t have known what was happening.” Glimmer sniffled.

“But you did. Bow told me you warned him about Shadow Weaver but I thought you were lying and that I had everything under control. If I hadn’t been so mistrusting maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

Bow pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay. We’re your friends. We know that it can be tough sometimes, but from now on we stick together. No matter what,” he said.

Adora wrapped her arms around Glimmer as well, and after a moment the three of them turned to Catra.

“Well?,” Glimmer asked. “This is a friendship hug, so get in here.” Grumbling for show, Catra let herself be pulled into the hug. She would be lying if she said she didn’t like it, but she would just because she wasn’t willing to be thought of as a sap like the three of them. Not yet anyway.

“Best friend quad,” Bow said.

The last time Catra thought Glimmer was going to use Shadow Weaver’s power, Glimmer was holding her arms out again, sitting deep in concentration. Slowly, a small blue ball appeared in front of her. As she focused, the ball whizzed up and burst into a firework of pink sparkles.

“Congratulations Glimmer!” Castaspella said. “Now that you’re able to draw out your own magic, we can begin the basics.”

“Thanks Castaspella,” Glimmer said looking up at her aunt. “But won’t Mystacor need you? How much longer can you stay here?” Castaspella laughed gently.

“Oh don’t you worry about your auntie. There isn’t a force in the world that could stop me from teaching my favorite niece magic, especially not after all that Shadow Weaver business.”

Seeing the look on Glimmer’s face Castaspella continued. “But don’t worry! You weren’t the first person she tricked, but you are the last, thanks to you and all your new friends. What was your name again? Catya?”

“Catra, actually,” Catra corrected. She had begun sitting in on Glimmer’s magic lessons ever since Castaspella had arrived. She hadn’t trusted the sorceress at first, but one day with her made her feel like Glimmer was in good hands.

“Yes! Catra! Is that one ‘t’ or two? I want to get it right for the sweater,” Castaspella said.

“Castaspella! Please! You’re embarrassing me in front of my friends again!” Catra still wasn’t used to them calling each other friends, as the only people who used to call her that were Adora and Scorpia, and both times had ended badly. Adora had let Catra back into her life again and while it was painful and awkward at times, she wouldn’t give up that easily. Scorpia was still far and away from her, but she hoped that one day she could make it up to her and apologize for all she put her through. As the lesson finished, Glimmer ran up to Catra.

“Hey! Do you want to go see how the portal is coming along?” Glimmer asked.

“Of course,” Catra replied. Taking Glimmer’s hand, they disappeared into a puff of pink sparkles, reappearing in Entrapta’s workshop. The half finished structure lay dormant as the resident scientist was out recovering more First One’s tech with Bow and Adora to construct it. It was supposed to have been functional already, but Shadow Weaver made sure it wouldn’t have worked even if Glimmer had given her the Moonstone. Emily was doing some small repairs on the portal so while there wasn’t anything to do, just being there gave Glimmer hope.

“When mom comes back she’s going to be so confused, she’ll never believe anything I tell her unless she sees it for herself,” Glimmer chatted as the two sat on piles of scrap.

“I don’t know. From what you’ve told me she seems like the type of person who has a lot of faith in you, and would believe you if you told her,” Catra replied. Glimmer blushed and looked away.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. And sorry about my aunt, she gets really excited about all the new friends I have now.”

“Are you kidding? Your aunt is amazing. She’s everything I wish I had when I was a kid,” Catra said. The two fell into a comfortable silence as they sat next to each other watching Emily search for screws with her new tiny robot arms. Looking down at her, Catra noticed an odd gleam in Glimmer’s eyes.

“Hey, do you mind if I,” Glimmer paused.

“If you what?” Catra asked.

“Nothing! Nothing. Just thinking out loud,” Glimmer said turning away.

“No seriously tell me!” Catra said turning Glimmer back around.

“Would you mind if I kissed you?” Glimmer blurted. Catra was stunned.

“But. Aren’t you doing that dating thing with Adora? Don’t you only kiss her?” Catra asked.

“Well normally, but when we started going out Adora made it clear that she still cared a lot about you and would always want to be with you, and while I didn’t see why at first, I accepted it. Even after the portal I could tell Adora was still thinking of you, even if it was in more of a face punching way than kissing. So, if you’ll have us, we would love to be with you. And kiss you,” Glimmer said. Catra was floored again.

“She wants to be with me? And you do too? I don’t understand. Why?” she asked. Glimmer giggled.

“Because silly, you’re a great person to be around. You’re smart, put way more effort into things than you let people believe, you care a lot about your friends even if you can’t open up to us that easily, and at your center, you’re a caring person,” Glimmer said. “And as for Adora, seeing you work to make amends made her feel like she could fall in love with you again. So, is that a ‘no’ or…”

“I don’t know, is this a no?” Catra asked as she moved forward. Her first kiss was clumsy and she pressed her lips to the side of Glimmers mouth, but Glimmer was more than eager to correct her, gently pressing her lips against Catra’s, tilting her head to fit better. Catra felt Glimmers hand on the back of her head pull her closer, so she pulled Glimmer onto her lap for easier access to her mouth. It felt like fireworks were going off in Catra’s head. A small fizzle and pop pulled them apart as small blue sparkles fizzled and burst into pink light around Glimmers head. Glimmer waved futilely at them but they didn’t go away.

“I’m so sorry this has never happened before,” she said, trying to catch the motes before they burst. Catra watched her for a moment before laughing and pulling her back.

“Don’t worry about it. I think it’s cute,” she said, sending off another bout of fireworks. Glimmer pulled Catra back down to kiss her again, holding the two of them together for a second kiss.

“Wow. You really know how to kiss,” Catra said as they pulled apart.

“I’ve had some time to practice with Adora,” Glimmer said. “Don’t worry, you’ll have time to get better. As long as we stick together, we can do anything.” As Catra pulled her in again, she knew she didn’t need a promise to know it would come true.

**Author's Note:**

> You may have noticed this was my first kiss scene. Thanks to the amazing @artofkace on tumblr/twitter for some pretty inspiring art! Feedback, kudos, and bookmarks are amazing. You can find me at my tumblr @slothteeth. I hope you enjoyed reading this as I did writing it!


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